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US 7,079,300 B1Granted
Thermo-mechanically actuated reflective structure
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsAlexander Govyadinov, Curt N. Van Lydegraf
Life of this patent
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Abstract
One embodiment of an optical modulator includes a substrate, a reflective structure, and at least three thermally actuated supports that movably support said reflective structure on said substrate.
Claims33
An optical modulator, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a reflective structure;
- and
- at least four thermally actuated supports that movably support said reflective structure on said substrate, wherein said at least four thermally actuated supports each comprise a first material having a first coefficient of thermal expansion and a second material having a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from said first coefficient of the thermal expansion.
1 more element
An optical modulator, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a reflective structure;
- and
- at least three thermally actuated supports that movably support said reflective structure on said substrate wherein said at least three thermally actuated supports each comprise different materials from the other two supports.
1 more element
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said predetermined temperature is different for each of said three supports.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said at least two materials of each of said three supports includes material different from the other two supports.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said optical modulator comprises a plurality of reflective structures positioned on said substrate, each of said plurality of reflective structures supported on said substrate by three supports, and wherein said heating comprises heating one of said three supports of said plurality of reflective structures to a predetermined temperature to move one of said plurality of reflective structures into a corresponding predetermined position.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor structure is operatively connected to each of said three supports, and wherein said heating comprises applying a voltage to selected one of said complimentary metal oxide semiconductor structure to selectively heat one of said three supports.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said heating comprises increasing a temperature of said supports by a temperature change in a range of one to four hundred degrees Kelvin.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said heating comprises utilizing a 5×7 micrometer tungsten heater.
A method of moving a reflective structure of an optical modulator, comprising:
- supporting said reflective structure on a substrate with three supports, each of said three supports including at least two materials have different coefficients of thermal expansion;
- and
- heating one of said three supports to a predetermined temperature to move said reflective structure into a predetermined position wherein said heating comprises utilizing power in a range of 0.1 to 2.5 microwatts per degree Kelvin temperature raise.
A thermally actuated movable micro-mirror, comprising:
- a micro-mirror structure having four corners;
- and
- four movable bilayer supports operatively connected to a corner of said micro-mirror structure, said movable bilayer supports each including a first layer of material having a first coefficient of thermal expansion and a second layer of material having a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from said first coefficient of thermal expansion.
A reflection device, comprising:
- means for reflecting light;
- and
- three thermally actuated means for supporting said means for reflecting light comprises an array of micromirrors, wherein each of said thermally actuated means for supporting comprises an elongate member including a first layer and a second layer both extending alone a length of said elongate member, said first and second layers defining a coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between.
A reflection device, comprising:
- means for reflecting light;
- and
- three thermally actuated means for supporting said means for reflecting, wherein each of said three thermally actuated means for supporting comprise an elongate member including a first layer and a second layer both extending along a length of said elongate member, said first and second layers defining a coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch therebetween and wherein each of said three elongate members are secured at a first end to said means for reflecting light and secured at a second end to a support and wherein each elongate members are operatively connected to a tungsten resistive pathway at their second end.
A thermally actuated mirror system, comprising:
- a mirror;
- and
- at least three supports positioned around and movably supporting said mirror, said at least three supports being thermally actuated to position said mirror in a variety of predetermined x, y and z orientations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.